In Which She Did Not Break Her Arm

We experienced drama last night, but the punch line is that Mary did not break her arm. In the afternoon, she fell about five feet out of a tree, not even that high and not her first time. But it was the first time that an hour and a half later, Mary was still crying every time we tried to move or touch her. Grampa Neil had just arrived from California and I had plans to make a celebratory dinner when Daddy took Mary off to Urgent Care. (For my local friends, there is a great new children's Urgent Care that opened up at Blakeney--super clean, friendly staff, no wait!)

Waiting with Winnie-the-Pooh  

Getting her x-ray, which showed no broken bones in her arm, collar bone, or ribs 

The doctors said she has internal contusions. I had thought when Chris was bringing home a girl without any broken bones that I'd feel foolish for our having been so concerned, but I don't. Mary is still so very tender! She won't use her right arm and bursts into tears at being touched or dressed, or trying to climb in or out of a car seat, high chair, or potty. She began crying when she tried to lay down last night, so she slept propped up high on pillows. She can't even feed herself with her right hand. She won't carry her her beloved stuffed animal with her injured side.

Don't let the briefly given smile fool you, she's spending a lot of time in tears

Last night she got home late and the snacks I'd sent her with didn't make up for dinner. I ended up tucking her into bed and spoon-feeding her chocolate pudding. Then this morning she was in such pain and tears (despite being on over-the-counter pain medication) that I made her a special treat of a strawberry ice cream shake for breakfast (yes, I sneaked in protein powder). I can see that if I had a child with a long or chronic illness, I'd have to exercise some serious self-control about pampering the child to excess! It's just that my heart is hurting to see my very active girl moving about so gingerly and crying often.